Chapter four (HSLoN)
Placing spying and eavesdropping spells all over Dorne didn't take Harry very much longer, but he wasn't complaining. That extra time allowed him to visit Sunspear, having been invited by Prince Doran. Harry suspected Doran's reasons of course, discussing a betrothal, assessing him as a threat, kill him, extort him, or torture him until he blabs all of his and Westeros' secrets. Naturally, Harry had Jon in a safe place. Jon was a weakness at present time and had to be protected so that he couldn't be used against him. "Lord Stark," Oberyn greeted politely. "Welcome to Sunspear." "Prince Oberyn," Harry returned, while briefly scanning Oberyn's thoughts. It was a threat assessment, but Doran would have him killed outside of Dorne if he was a threat. Good to know, Harry mused. They were only interested in interrogating Jon about what he might know, but Harry had no intention of letting them do so. "I'll show you to my brother," Oberyn said. "Will your cousin be joining us?" "No. He's resting, the heat of Dorne is too much for him." Oberyn nodded and led Harry into his brothers solar. "Welcome, Lord Stark," Doran said, as Oberyn closed the door. "Thank you for the invitation, Prince Doran. I assume this is in regards to my knowledge of your "secret" pact?" Harry asked, much to Doran's annoyance and Oberyn's amusement. "Indeed, and your knowledge of my sister and nieces survival and your marriage proposal to Rhaenys. Elia is strongly considering that and you knowing such secrets and your motives are a great concern." Doran said, surprisingly not coldly or angrily. Stark likely could have outed them years ago. "Well, the marriage pact is quite frankly worthless. Viserys is very much his fathers son and would be soon overthrown, leaving Dornish lives pointlessly sacrificed and even risking the lives of any heirs born from the union being killed by yet another usurper or enemy seeking to prove themselves. Viserys would likely even treat your daughter horribly, perhaps far worse than Aerys treated Rhaella. Viserys is weak, incompetent, demands respect that he doesn't deserve, he's prone to temper tantrums, rash, arrogant, reckless, weak, deluded, he's abusive to his sister and others, cruel, bitter, devoid of talent with weapons, strategy, politics, combat, and warfare. If he had even half of those major flaws he would still be a terrible king and unstable investment in lives, effort, and resources. I've studied the players and Viserys doesn't even count. He's not even the last potential king. I would actually advise selecting random people on the street before him." "You made a bad choice in husband for your daughter, but don't fret... he'll get himself killed and you can deny having ever planned to use him in your plan." Harry finished, and Oberyn was questioning his brothers judgement in making such a bad plan now. "My plan will work," Doran insisted, but he didn't expect Harry to laugh at him before quickly stopping. Even then Harry had a smirk on his face. "Your plan is marry Arianne to Viserys, back him with Dorne's might and hope others join you and hope you actually win. This, you believe, will allow you to eventually destroy all Tywin Lannister holds dear in revenge for his failed attempt to kill your sister and niece. The Vale, Riverlands, North, and Westerlands can each field over 45,000, but the Tyrell's want their blood on the throne and would align with House Baratheon and add their men to that. Add the Stormlands 30,000 and the Crownlands 10,000 and it would be a catastrophic loss for your faction. Not even Balerion the Black Dread could save your cause." Even Doran was doubting his plan now. Surely more would aid House Targaryen? "Not even buying Unsullied and paying the Golden Company and the other sell-sword groups would help your cause. Your plan failed before it began." Harry said, and by this time Doran had lost all confidence in his plan. The Vale and Westerlands had 90,000 soldiers alone and the Tyrell's could nearly match that number. "As for my motive for wanting to marry Princess Rhaenys, it's quite simple. I'm all about bloodlines and Rhaenys is Martell and Targaryen on each side; the bloodlines of two powerful civilizations united in one beautiful young woman. I want my blood to have a claim on the Iron Throne and marrying someone so amazing and pleasant to be around is a great way to achieve that ambition. She would never be taken seriously as a ruling queen by the lackwits that rule the other six kingdoms, but she could see her children on the Iron Throne. Granted, I already had my own plans in motion before learning of her survival...." "What plans?" Doran asked. "Placing Aegon Targaryen, the sixth of his name, on the Iron Throne. I've invested a lot of effort in having him secretly trained and recruiting trustworthy teachers for him, but, should he wish it, I will back his claim." "Then Rhaenys should wed him!" Doran said angrily. "And continue the Targaryen family tradition of incest and madness born from it? That would only weaken House Targaryen and Westeros in the long term and further jeopardize its rule. Multiple bloodlines, all with Dragonlord potential could allow House Targaryen to marry within small albeit stable pool to refresh their bloodline with the desired traits while lessening or outright removing the madness. I'm not pursuing your niece purely out of lust for power, but because if my plan is executed properly then Westeros can thrive like never before and both of our houses futures will be secured." "I don't like it, but your plans do seem to be the best option. Should my sister consent to the betrothal, I will not object or oppose it." Doran said. "Excellent, when I finish my travels I'll stop by Dorne for her answer." Harry said, pleased this conversation had reached a favorable outcome. "Where all will you be travelling?" Oberyn asked. "The Free Cities and maybe some of the Ghiscari cities." Harry replied. With it being a mere matter of waiting until Elia Martell decided, Harry and Jon departed Dorne for Lys on Harry's personal ship. Harry's personal ship was magically shrinkable and only requiring a crew of one. Controlled by will and bound to him with blood and soul magic. It had ship-breakers, flamethrowers, and was enchanted to nigh-invulnerability; immunity to fire, wind, and bypasses wind & water resistance for incredible speed, multiple storage rooms; all magically expanded to the point that it can transport incalculable weights with enchanted trunks and each room is enchanted to ignore the weight of its contents. It was warded to prevent people from boarding unless invited, can erect a powerful Notice-me-not charm for ten hours. Contains a master bedroom fit for a king and was 450 feet long, with its weight reduced with magic and the ship reinforced with magic. It took years of intense work, but Harry had his desired ship. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not much happened in Lys, apart from Harry stealing fine tapestries, gold, silver, gems, and sensing the lost blade of Moredo Rogare, Truth. Harry would have felt guilty if the people he stole from weren't slavers that were quite abusive, but they were scum. Harry had even continued his obsession with collecting Valyrian steel and had stolen an Arahk from Caggo, captain of the Windblown. Harry had come close to catching Jorah Mormont, but his wife decided to become the whore of a merchant prince a mere two weeks before Harry had arrived in Lys and the guy threatened Jorah into leaving. Harry's time in Volantis was spent buying large amounts of silk and spice and placing them under stasis in his ship, and adding spying and eavesdropping spells everywhere he could. It was when they were sailing on the Rhoyne that Harry and Jon started having trouble. Well, according to Jon, but Harry enjoyed killing all of those pirates and taking their stuff and Jon got a Valyrian steel bastard sword of his own, and several chests of valuables like gold, silver, and gems and other miscellaneous objects... Jon was now a very rich man and set for life, but he still wasn't happy about his cousins thrill, wealth, and battle seeking. Harry and Jon had slain hundreds of pirates and they gained large amounts of wealth from it. "Harry... are we really going into Dagger Lake?" Jon asked nervously. "Hell yeah!" Harry replied. "This is awesome! I needed this break from my duties! We'll take these f**kers for everything they've got!" Harry said, to Jon's concern. "Don't worry, I'm in control and we'll both be fine." They spent a month on the Rhoyne and Dagger Lake, and when they left Jon was a very wealthy little bastard and he actually said that about himself. Unfortunately, Jon asked to return to Winterfell, and Harry obliged seeing that it was almost time for him to venture into Chroyane and hopefully loot any treasure left behind. Before leaving, Harry was tempted to approach the Faceless Men and see if they would serve him, but the mere thought of that was rewarded with Death's laughter in his mind. That was a good one, Death said. I haven't laughed like that in a long time. That would make you far too overpowered and you can already easily kill any enemies that you do have. Harry felt quite stupid for even thinking that now. Harry disapparated to near the ruined city of Chroyane, with his ship magically shrunk and stored, and his magically expanded trunks at the ready. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Harry arrived, he wasted no time in entering the city and began cleansing it of stone men, he quickly grew bored of casually obliterating hundreds at a time and opted to loot instead. If there was anything Harry had to leave behind then he would have plenty of free security for it. Harry had already summoned Valyrian steel blades, armor, and dragon horns from beneath the water, likely belonging to the now deceased Dragonlords. Valyrian steel being infused with magic made it very easy to sense for Harry, but he wasn't complaining that Valyrian steel was basically the easy pickings. It just meant even more wealth for him. Harry, surprising even himself, decided to loot the houses of what he assumed to be the Rhoyner peasants. Unfortunately, it wasn't all that profitable and was basically a waste of four hours of his time. After that failure, Harry started on the palaces, mansions, and the nicer places. Basically anything with ostentatious shows of wealth. That worked much better. Collecting several times his weight in gold and silver tended to do that, he took cutlery, plates, goblets, jewelry, and weapons enhanced with runes to be usable. And there was still a vault left in the first mansion that he was in. When Harry opened that, he was awed. It wasn't so much the contents, those were only worth maybe five million gold dragons, but it was the unspoken promise of the other homes having far more wealth in them. Still, he had already gained a lot of wealth. Harry continued looting the less grand mansions, gaining more wealth than all the Great Houses combined and finally filling up his first trunk. Harry repeated this once more and matched his previous accomplishment and gained a couple more Valyrian steel objects in the process. Harry even saw the cage of Garin the Great and sensed the dark magic coming from it. He would break whatever curse when he had taken all that he wanted from Chroyane. It was the palaces made of gold that were a logistics issue to break down or relocate, but the contents were incredible. Excessive amounts of gold inside and out, the vault had several Valyrian steel weapons, huge amounts of gold, silver, copper, gems, scrolls and books about magic and alchemy, and, most importantly, four Philosopher's Stones. Harry magically melted the decorative gold, which was attached to the inside of the building and turned it into bars and ingots. Harry eventually decided to place one palace made of gold under the Fidelius Charm and then strip it down into gold bars and ingots. The first palace took him a day to strip down, but there was thankfully only two of them. The second palace was noticeably bigger and its owners were far wealthier than those of the other gold palace. They had ten Philosopher's Stones, Valyrian steel weapons and armor, incalculable physical wealth in the form of piles of gold, silver, copper coins and stacks of bars in them. Stripping down the palace took Harry two days, but he now had enough gold to fund a global fiat currency when he was done. Harry had no intention of doing something so utterly stupid, of course; paper wasn't real money or a valid form of wealth and Harry had learned that from experience. Harry was now worth billions in a medieval society and had it all in tangible wealth. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Harry finished looting Chroyane, it had been a week since he had arrived and Harry was pleased that it was a highly productive week, but he decided that it was time to finally deal with Aegon Blackfyre and Jon Connington. He had delayed it long enough already, but not due to fear. Due to having better things to do and wishing that he could send his cousin Jon to kill the one usurping his name. Finding the location of Aegon Blackfyre and Jon Connington was laughably easy with his spy network. Taking both of them and their people prisoner was also laughably easy with his immense skills and magic. "So, Aegon Blackfyre, son of Illyrio Mopatis and Serra Blackfyre... I hear you have been usurping the name of the true king." Aegon was visibly shocked to learn that Harry, who was disguised, knew his secret, and it showed on his face and cost him the support of Jon Connington, Lemore, Ysilla, and Yandry, and Haldon. Rolly Duckfield didn't care at all though. Aegon was his friend. Harry telekinetically lifted Aegon onto his feet and then ripped all knowledge regarding House Blackfyre from his mind, but was annoyed that Aegon had no known living family apart from his father. Harry beheaded Aegon who was still in pain, horrifying Rolly and his former supporters. After looking through the memories of Aegon's former supporters, Harry swiftly killed them all and then began his Anti-Blackfyre strategy. In Pentos, Illyrio Mopatis had the memories of his son removed and was molded into a Targaryen supporter, but only if they were stable. Anyone who had knowledge of Aegon Blackfyre had the memories removed, not obliviated, which was reversible. Harry also infested Pentos with spying and eavesdropping spells. When he was done, he apparated to King's Landing. In King's Landing, Varys also had his memories removed and was molded into a Targaryen supporter who would only support stable ones, but would also support other stable leaders for the good of Westeros. With his actions against the known Blackfyres done, Harry apparated to near Volantis where he would buy more spice and silk before heading to Valyria. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Harry arrived in the Valyrian peninsula, he first saw the so-called demons, but they were merely the ghosts of the victims of the Doom and the Smoking Sea. It was the toxic environment that was effecting him the most, but Harry endured, knowing that the Hallows would keep him alive and allow him to adapt. It would be an under-utilized ability to breath in similar environments but it was worthwhile nonetheless. The krakens weren't at all threat to him. They, like sharks, were drawn by blood and Harry was also giving them some distance so that they didn't feel threatened by his rather large ship that was 450 feet long and magically expanded on the inside. It would be a shame to kill such amazing creatures after all. Harry extended his magical senses to detect any Valyrian steel and then promptly summoned all that he had sensed, gaining quite a bit of Valyrian steel and more dragon horns too. Harry even summoned House Lannister's ancestral sword Brightroar from beneath the oceans surface. After finally reaching the shore, Harry set up his tent and began his salvaging trip by summoning the shade of Tommen Lannister. Harry ended up with two chests of gold that he magically expanded and enchanted before emptying one into the other. It took Harry ten days to pick the underwater areas clean and fill up his two new chests and five others full of loot, but it was worth it and Harry was going to continue and take as much wealth as possible. He still hadn't found any dragon eggs though and Harry really needed more of them for his plans. It was when Harry arrived in Valyria the city that things got interesting.... Even after the Doom there was still ambient magic in the air and Harry could sense several magic sources in the surviving buildings, which were surprisingly numerous. Some of which seemed like the magic within Valyrian steel and dragon eggs. Harry summoned up that Gryffindor courage and entered the first tower, his skin beginning to blister from the heat and only getting worse as he was exposed to greater levels of heat, but Harry gritted his teeth as he quickly regenerated from the rapidly worsening damage. Harry calmly pushed open the doors, the heat burning his hands, and entered the tower. Harry was shocked by the contents; gold and silver decorations, with the more delicate objects such as paintings, fabrics, and furniture having decayed from the intense heat and time. Harry quickly stored the few objects of value and began searching the tower. In the dining hall, he found utensils, plates, and goblets of gold. The decorations were of similar expense, and Harry was thrilled to have found three large tables made of Goldenheart wood with plenty of seats made of it. They were thankfully preserved with Valyrian runes and still in perfect shape. In the various bedrooms, Harry found jewelry; quite a bit made of Valyrian steel, some useful furniture and other chests for storage. It was in what Harry assumed to be the solar of the Dragonlord that Harry found a vault made of Dragonstone and layered with enchantments, which had been weakening for over four centuries. As such, unlocking it was extremely easy and when it was opened... Harry was in awe. Two sets of Valyrian steel armor, six Valyrian steel blades; two greatswords, two longswords, two bastard swords, and about a dozen daggers of the same metal that Harry hadn't notice at first. Apart from that, there was a massive amount of gold, silver, gems, dozens of dragon eggs, crates of dragonbone, dragonbone bows, books on Valyrian magic, arts, history, culture, dragon breeding and raising, and the magic of several ancient societies. Once everything was stored, Harry magically extracted the vault, shrunk it, made it feather light, and stored it on his ship. It was a real pity that few people in this world preserved their property with magic. If they had, then Harry's looting could have been far more profitable. Harry continued looting the other towers, sometimes alternating from wealth greater to the first tower or wealth lesser than the first tower, but it was all worth taking and all extremely valuable. The best way to describe Harry's new class of wealth? Essentially limitless. It was logically impossible for Harry or his family to spend all of it. Harry would still take precautions, of course, one idiot heir could ruin everything. One idiot could destroy a families legacy. It was in the grandest tower that had the most ambient magic and was virtually spared from the damage of the Doom that caught Harry's attention. It was a meeting place, like the Wizengamot chamber of Britain, but seated over forty. Now that was the normal part, but the three Deathly Hallows, that was the strange and confusing part. Harry believed that the Hallows were unique to his universe. "They aren't, but each magic dominant universe has a set. The Dragonlords sought to pervert the power of the Hallows and enhance their powers to a godlike level, much like you possess after working hard for it. The Dragonlords felt themselves above such difficulty and sought to defy me, drain some of my power, and dared to consider themselves beyond death and to have become gods. I ended them as punishment. The Hallows absorbed the magic of the deceased Dragonlords and have been absorbing ambient magic for centuries...." Death spoke into Harry's mind. "Take them, they are yours. Merge with them and gain the power you'll need to survive the coming threat." Death said. "Coming threat?" Harry asked. "Don't worry, Hadrian. You can end it alone and you can do so quickly, but you'll need the power boost." Death replied. "You could also add the lands beyond the Wall to your own if you can deal with the wildlings, either peacefully or violently." "I'll consider conquering the lands beyond the Wall, but I'm expanding south for now." Harry said, before absorbing the other Deathly Hallows into himself and unleashing a scream of agony at the sudden influx of power, obliterating the meeting chamber as he unleashed some excess power. When the new power had settled, Harry had doubled his own already immense power. "Now, you have truly godlike power, Hadrian," Death said, with clear amusement. "Most Dragonlords had power rivaling or surpassing Merlin. If you improved your physical abilities than you could actually fight at the god level." "It isn't safe to perform any more power rituals and training isn't practical," Harry replied in confusion. "Hadrian... you can perform the rituals seven times each lifetime. That is the true upper limit of the rituals that only the owners of the Hallows can exploit. You should take advantage, not all worlds will have the necessary ingredients in them. I must go Hadrian, good luck." Death said, before its presence withdrew from Harry's mind. After looting the remaining cities and taking anything of value, Harry departed Valyria for Dorne. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Harry had finally arrived in Sunspear, having sunk dozens of pirate ships, but surprisingly very few Ironborn. Harry executed the Ironborn under the new laws he had written and gotten passed due to a boon granted to him by King Robert Baratheon. Basically the majority of the Ironborns 'culture' was made illegal and violating the laws was punishable by death. If Harry couldn't destroy the Ironborn through war, then he would settle for destroying them with laws and regulations. It was when Harry sneaked into Winterfell to check his Book of Secrets that he learned that Jon Arryn had convinced Robert not make them law. Jon called them unfair and excessive and even had Robert reconsidering the boon relating to taxes. The Three Sisters were luring in ships to wreck and loot. Catelyn had been excluding and annoying Jon, and her father Hoster was still trying to denounce Harry as a bastard. Naturally, Harry would retaliate and it would do so viciously. Winter would come for Harry's enemies. But only after he concluded his business in Dorne. Harry was quickly led to Princess Elia Martell, who had agreed to marry her daughter to him. "Lord Stark," Elia said with a sultry smile. "I can see why my daughters is so taken with you and eager to marry you." Elia said, inspecting Hadrian Stark. At 6 feet tall and still growing, heavily but not excessively muscled, and with his mothers haunting violet eyes and his fathers build, Harry was a fantasy for many women and girls. If the rumors were true, then Harry was even more skilled than his uncle Ser Arthur Dayne and said to fight like the Warrior himself. "Thank you, my Lady," Harry returned politely. "I've decided to agree to your marrying Rhaenys," Elia began. "She deserves better than to wither away in Dorne, never having her birthright of being a Lady or Queen, and you both liking each other has helped me decide. I do, however, expect her to visit her family and we will visit her and any children produced." "Of course," Harry agreed. He would insure that Rhaenys was very well-protected during those journeys. "There is the matter of the dowry...." Elia began. "It's unnecessary. At this point my wealth is essentially limitless." Elia looked disbelieving. "I have multiple sets of Valyrian steel armor and enough gold to create a global currency with it. Moving on, when can I take Rhaenys to the North so that she can get to know her duties and the people." "Rhaenys has expressed interest in wedding you as soon as possible. She's very impressed with you; your prowess in bed, your reputation, your turning the North from one of the poorest kingdoms into the most wealthy, and she feels safe with you." Elia said. "You also need to get used to calling her Meria, which is what she's been going by while masquerading as Oberyn's bastard." "I will," Harry replied. Harry wasn't a lackwit. Needing to protect Rhaenys' identity was quite obvious to him. "I've heard that you intend to have multiple wives?" Elia asked, but she surprisingly didn't seem all that disapproving. Harry didn't follow the Faith of the Seven and the Old Gods didn't care how many wives their followers had. "For political purposes, yes. I need a legal claim on the Iron Islands to destroy their culture and add them to the North, and I might take the Westerlands, Vale, and Riverlands if the opportunities ever come along. Rest assured, however, that Rhaenys, or Meria, will be my Lady Stark." With the agreement having been finalized, Harry and Rhaenys departed Dorne for the North. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After brutally assassinating Edmure Tully in revenge for Hoster's continued slander and cowardly attempts at removing Harry from power, Harry arrived back in Winterfell with his magically shrunk ship. Rhaenys was very surprised when she saw him shrink a ship and expressed an interest in learning magic, but was promised the opportunity to learn Valyrian and Rhoynar magic after learning that she might not be able to perform Harry's unique magic. "Report," Harry said, beginning the gathering of his advisors and two uncles. "Jon Arryn continues to deny knowledge of the Sistermen's actions and has claimed that they are mere accidents and that perhaps our people are at fault due to not paying attention or even being drunk. I advise you to either demand he bring them under control or that it will be considered an act of war by a rebellious Three Sisters or by the Vale itself. Right of Conquest will apply when we retaliate." Harry's adviser on foreign affairs said. "I'm happy to report that the North is still highly popular and that many wish to defect from the Riverlands and Vale to share in the North's prosperity." That last bit was code. They had won over people to the North in secret. "House Frey, however, has gone out of their way to antagonize the North and charge excessive tolls, but have been seeking a betrothal with House Stark for mere reduced tolls." "Thank you. I will write the letter of warning to Jon Arryn and deal with House Frey." Harry replied, before nodding to the High General. "The newly increased standing armies training has been going well. They are all basic level and need more experience to become the great fighting force you envisioned. Should we go to war, I would advise you send them against the Sistermen alongside more experienced soldiers. With the increased population your army of 100,000 is easily possible." Up next was the financial adviser. "The North's economy has continued to grow and not even the increased military expenditure has adversely affected it. I would advise you not to exceed the planned 100,000 man standing army and 100,000 reserve, however." "Isn't that excessive?" Ned, Harry's uncle, asked in concern. "No, Lord Stark, it isn't," the adviser replied. "The North's recent success has caused quite a lot of anger, resentment, and chaos. The North used to spend large sums of money buying products from the other kingdoms, but now they sale product. That has removed a source of wealth from the other six and now they even have some competition. The Vale and Riverlands can field 90,000 combined and neither lord is on friendly terms with the North at present. The Reach can field 80,000-100,000 and have lost the most money. Many will wish to test the North's might and seek to weaken it to hopefully improve their own inferior positions." "It's not my intention to seek war, uncle," Harry said, easing Ned's mind. "That would be the height of stupidity. But I need to be prepared for it at all times; especially at present. I've heard of Edmure Tully's death and your children are his only viable heirs.... We will need to ensure that Bran or Rickon can take control of Riverrun when they're old enough and that requires military power, influence, and allies." Ned nodded in understanding. "Any other matters to be mentioned?" When no one said anything, Harry dismissed his advisers but had his uncles stay behind. "Jon Arryn has been attempting to convince King Robert Baratheon to break his oath on allowing me my specified boons, specifically the ones regarding writing laws regulating the Ironborn and the tax immunity. Tywin Lannister has been hinting that he wants Yara Greyjoy released into House Lannister's custody. I believe that Lannister intends to marry his son Tyrion to her and gain a claim on the Iron Islands... basically he means to steal my plan." Harry said, to his uncles shared concern. "I'm going to kill Tywin and then set his son and daughter against each other in a war of succession. Its not an ideal plan, but I won't let my plans be undone. House Lannister must be stopped from gaining more power. They're a doomed House anyway. Jaime and Cersei's incest has assured that." "The rumors are true?" Ned asked in disgust, which Benjen shared. "Yes. I've done all I can to expose them without it being traced back to me. When House Lannister falls, a stable power needs to fill the void left behind and help the realm remain stable and strong." Harry said, before remembering Baelish. "I also learned that someone intercepted a letter from aunt Lyanna to grandfather, a letter that would have prevented a great many deaths; our family among them. This person also sent the catspaw to kill me and my mother." "Who is it?" Ned asked angrily, ready to go and kill this person. Benjen looked ready to do much the same.